Newton or Tebow: Who Will Make a Better Pro?

Without a doubt, the two most celebrated quarterbacks to come out of college the last couple years are Tim Tebow and Cam Newton, which begs the question: Of the two, who will have a more successful professional career?

NFL scouts and general managers like to toss around terms like “passing accuracy” and “intelligence” when evaluating young quarterbacks, constantly using unfair criteria such as these to make snap judgments on their potential.

Another useless term scouts like to constantly harp on is “footwork.” I mean, come on. You don’t throw a deep out pattern with your foot.

And just because Tebow and Newton possess virtually none of the typical characteristics of a franchise NFL quarterback, well, that doesn’t mean they won’t enjoy long and successful careers.

Fact is Tebow and Newton have many positive qualities that often go overlooked by scouts, despite being just as effective in determining future success. So let’s compare the two based on these criteria and predict which guy will make the better pro.

#1 – Jersey Sales
Even though Cam Newton hasn’t been drafted yet, it would be hard to imagine him outselling Tebow’s jersey in Denver, where scores of Bronco fans like this one were proud to make Tebow’s No. 15 the third-best selling jersey of 2011.

Advantage: Tebow

#2 – National Championships
Vinny Testaverde, Tony Rice, Gino Torretta, Charlie Ward, Tommie Frazier, Danny Wuerffel, Brian Griese, Vince Young, Matt Leinart… nothing is a greater indicator of NFL success than for a quarterback to take home the mythical national championship. But since both Tebow and Newton each have one, it’s…

Advantage: Push

#3 – Trent Dilfer Arousal
Following Cam Newton’s recent Media Day workout, Trent Dilfer said, “If scouts had saw this they’d have been slobbering.” And the ESPN analyst with the penis-shaped head has consistently wet himself whenever the name Cam Newton has come up since.
Some even called it the best Media Day workout since JaMarcus Russell. We think that’s a good sign.

Advantage: Newton

#4 – Josh McDaniels Confidence
Former Denver Broncos head coach Josh McDaniels traded a 2nd, 3rd, and 4th round pick in the 2010 NFL Draft to snatch up Tebow in the first round (25th overall), who many projected to be a 6th round pick at best, or not get drafted at all.

In addition to solid math skills, McDaniels is an unparalleled evaluator of talent, trading the likes of Jay Cutler, Brandon Marshall, Peyton Hillis, and Tony Scheffler in guiding the Broncos from 8-8 to 4-12 in just two short seasons. He even brought in Brady Quinn for crying out loud. The guy just knows what he’s doing.

Advantage: Tebow

#5 – Morals
You don’t get much more squeaky clean and wholesome than Tim Tebow, who has engaged in less premarital sex than the BYU basketball team, despite hanging around women like this:

On the other hand, there’s Ben Roethlisberger, who’s been to three Super Bowls and seems to get stronger with each rape. Even so…

Advantage: Tebow###MORE###

#6 – Being a Project
Whether it’s a model car or a challenging jigsaw puzzle, everyone loves a project. NFL coaches and general managers are no different, which is one of the reasons why guys like Tebow and Newton are so appealing. After all, the list of quarterbacks labeled as projects early in their careers that went on to win Super Bowls is long and well-documented.

Advantage: Push

And the final tally is:

Congratulations, Tim Tebow! You will have the better NFL career. And while that might not mean much, we’re pretty certain Josh McDaniels would still trade a 3rd round pick for one of your jerseys.